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Coming at the height of the Cold War and with a cast featuring a cabinet minister, a senior Soviet official and a call girl it was one of the greatest scandals of the age.

In 1963 the country was stunned by revelations that John Profumo, then minister for war, had had a liaison with Christine Keeler while she was also seeing Russian naval attache Yevgeny Ivanov.

While Profumo resigned and abandoned public life altogether, Harley Street osteopath Stephen Ward - who had introduced him to Keeler at party in the grounds of Lord Astor’s Berkshire mansion - was tried at the Old Bailey on a charge of living off the earnings of prostitution.

Many then and now consider that Ward - who took his own life after the judge’s summing up and before a guilty verdict was handed down - was a simply made a scapegoat for the establishment.

Now Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of Britain's most famous impresarios, has called for the secret Government files on the Profumo Affair to be opened early.

Lord Lloyd Webber spoke out after the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) last week ruled that Ward will not have his conviction reviewed by the court of appeal.

He believes only the opening of sealed secret service and police files not available for public viewing until 2046 can clear Ward’s name.

Christine Keeler, who was at the centre of the 'Profumo Affair'Credit:
Keystone / Getty

The composer has long been fascinated by the Profumo Affair and in 2014 staged a musical about Stephen Ward.

Although it was his biggest flop to date Lord Lloyd Webber remains committed to the subject matter and his belief in Ward's innocence.

In an open letter he stated: "The Criminal Cases Review Commission has ruled that the conviction of Stephen Ward cannot be referred to the Court of Appeal as there were not sufficient public interest grounds and 'Ward's case was a case of its time'.

"If so, surely now there is no reason for the file on Ward and the Profumo scandal to remain closed until 2046?"

The revelation that one of the UK's most senior ministers had almost compromised state secrets for the sake of an affair threatened to topple Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government.

However, he CCRC said last Friday that it had found no evidence that Ward's prosecution was politically motivated, although it accepted that if Ward were still alive it could have “been minded to refer the case to the court of appeal”.

In a letter to Ward's nephew, Michael Ward, the CCRC said prejudicial reporting, flawed direction from the judge and Christine Keeler’s previous perjury could render the conviction unsafe.

But the CCRC told Ward’s family that it would not be sending the osteopath’s 1963 conviction for appeal as it could not find an original transcript of the judge’s summing up.

It said there was no public interest in referring the case to the court of appeal after 54 years and it could bring no personal benefit to Ward so long after his death.